Seven Sentiment Squabbles Separating Conservatives from Liberals (3 of 3)
In our final piece in our series on ideological differences between Conservatives and Liberals, we will delve into some personal, and some governmental, discrepancies between these two ideologies.
Liberals believe national sovereignty is absolute; Conservatives believe national sovereignty ends when atrocities begin.
Liberals see the sovereignty of nations as all encompassing. No matter how heinous the acts a foreign government commits in their own country, the fact that they are a sovereign nation means that no meaningful or physical action against them is justifiable. This has been seen repeatedly throughout modern history. In Rwanda, mass genocide was denigrated, allowing unspeakable evil to transpire under the pretext of national sovereignty. In Iraq, tyrannical dictatorship was allowed to fester under the umbrella of sovereignty until Conservatives put a stop to it. For Conservatives, the sovereignty of a nation becomes void the moment when the atrocities begin.
Conservatives believe in small government, for Liberals, the government is never too large.
True Conservatives believe the government should be small and noninvasive (I say “true Conservatives” because the previously Republican controlled Congress spent like there was no tomorrow). Conservatives believe the federal government should only be engaged in three small categories: infrastructure, defense, and catastrophic protection. Infrastructure meaning: interstate highways, communications (FCC), the national power grid, etc. Defense being the military and other public health organizations like the FDA or EPA (though most Conservative would arguer the EPA has overstepped its bounds). Catastrophic protection meaning: rebuilding in the aftermath of natural disasters (Katrina), or stopping them (forest fires). Liberals believe the government can, and must, solve these problems in addition to every other large social or economic problem that arises.
Liberals look to the government for help; Conservatives look to themselves.
Liberals believe that the government should offer you “cradle to grave” protection from any and every problem that ails you. Is healthcare to expensive or not good enough for you? “No problem,” the Liberals say, “the government will, and must, take care of you.” Out of a job and can not find work? No problem, the government will pay you for losing your job. Can not afford to go to the best universities in the country? No problem, the government will make everyone else pay the tuition. Conservatives are not unsympathetic to the problems people face. They merely believe that most of them should be solved by the citizens themselves, not the government. Private industry should offer low cost healthcare, and not be mandated to do so. Unemployed workers need to pull together until they find another job, not be paid to prolong their unemployment. Less wealthy perspective college students need to look for others ways to fund their dream, (like ROTC or going to a less expensive school) not force everyone else to pay for it. Life is hard, and overcoming these hardships by yourself makes you stronger and the life you life better.
